“Little by little, wean yourself. This is the gist of what I have to say.”
As quoted in The Enlightened Mind (1991), edited by Stephen Mitchell
Context: Little by little, wean yourself. This is the gist of what I have to say. From an embryo, whose nourishment comes in the blood, move to an infant drinking milk, to a child on solid food, to a searcher after wisdom, to a hunter of more invisible game.
Think how it is to have a conversation with an embryo. You might say, "The world outside is vast and intricate. There are wheatfields and mountain passes, and orchards in bloom. At night there are millions of galaxies, and in sunlight the beauty of friends dancing at a wedding."
You ask the embryo why he, or she, stays cooped up in the dark with eyes closed. Listen to the answer.
There is no "other world." I only know what I've experienced. You must be hallucinating.
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Rumi 148
Iranian poet 1207–1273Related quotes
“From now on, little by little, you must prepare yourself to face death.”
Thailand
Context: You are a beautiful person, Doctor. Clearheaded. Strong. But you seem always to be dragging your heart along the ground. From now on, little by little, you must prepare yourself to face death. If you devote all of your future energy to living, you will not be able to die well. You must begin to shift gears, a little at a time. Living and dying are, in a sense, of equal value.
“What to do now? How to detach yourself?
With every work that’s born you die a little.”
"The Work" (1983)
Collected Poems (1984)
“If you take little account of yourself, you will have peace, wherever you live.”
Saying 81
“Don't be yourself-be someone a little nicer.”
The Complete Neurotic's Notebook (1981), Unclassified
Letter to John Dunthorne, 1801; as quoted in Leslie Parris and Ian Fleming-Williams, Constable (Tate Gallery Publications, London, 1993), p. 510
1800s - 1810s
Book Three, Part III “Inside the Hollow Star”, Chapter 5 (p. 402)
The Birthgrave (1975)
“Practice yourself, for heaven's sake, in little things; and thence proceed to greater.”
Book I, ch. 18.
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